


Upstairs, Downstairs

by Lafeae



Series: Domestic Fluff Fics [4]
Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Bickering, Domestic Fluff, Established Relationship, Injury, Light Angst, M/M, so light it’s more like...not? But also kind of
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-06
Updated: 2020-05-06
Packaged: 2021-03-03 00:53:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,932
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24036169
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lafeae/pseuds/Lafeae
Summary: Kaiba’s not the best caretaker after Joey gets hurt, but he’s trying.
Relationships: Jounouchi Katsuya | Joey Wheeler/Kaiba Seto
Series: Domestic Fluff Fics [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1693936
Comments: 13
Kudos: 95
Collections: Puppyshipping





	Upstairs, Downstairs

**Author's Note:**

> A fourth spontaneous kind-of fluff.

“I think the door-gap thing got taller.” 

Kaiba crossed his arms and sighed. “It’s always been that tall, Joseph. You’re just noticing it now.” 

“It should be shorter then.” 

“It can’t be changed.” 

Joey lingered in the doorway, adjusting himself for the umpteenth time. On any normal day, Kaiba would have become frustrated with his boyfriend’s slowness, but he was more or less required to give him the benefit of the doubt today. A broken leg wasn’t the easiest thing to move with, doubly so because of Joey’s natural clumsiness. Watching him move had suddenly went from irritating to uneasy. 

“Ya sure? Pretty sure me an’ you knocked out the wall upstairs, made a whole big room.” 

“That didn’t change the framework of the house,” Kaiba replied. He rested his hand on Joey’s back, steadying him as he tottered in on crutches. “Next time, we’ll try the garage. There’s no lip there.” 

“Then it’s a million miles to get through the house. These things ain’t easy to walk with, ya know.” 

Crabby. Got it. 

“You’ll be an expert on them by then, I’m sure,” Kaiba replied, exasperated. 

Joey stared at the grand staircase. He didn’t say anything at first, but his eyes may as well have had math equations in them. Two crutches, one bum leg, and 16 stairs. “You tryin’ to be nice?” 

“I’m being logical.” 

“Yeah, right.” 

Certain, he said, “It’s like anything, do it enough and it’ll become second-nature. You’ll be outpacing me by week’s end.” 

“That a bet?” Joey asked, tentatively approaching the stairs. He took one hand off a crutch, but not long enough to shiver and re-grip it. 

“Based on your average stride and the arc you’ll get, yes, you may match my gait,” he said flatly, joining Joey in starting up at the second floor. “Are you going up?” 

“Are you?” 

“I hadn’t planned on it, but I have a few minutes.” 

Joey laughed dryly. “Ain’t ya a saint,” he said, shaking his head. It was hard to get a read on the blond. He was definitely in pain but managing. The rest of it was a mystery. Upset, frightened, sardonic, sarcastic, and swapping between angry and a little hysterical. All in the span on the last several hours since he’d gotten the call that Joey had fallen down the stairs and couldn’t get back up. “Might as well go set-up on the couch.” 

“And why’s that?” 

“Because your twiggy ass ain’t helpin’ me up there.” 

Point taken. Kaiba’s shoulder dropped. “Where are you trying to go, Joseph?” 

“The bedroom! Where ya think?” 

“Then just ask.” 

“Why? So ya can get on my case? I’ll figure this out, a’right? If that means sleepin’ on the couch then—,” 

“You’re not sleeping on the couch,” Kaiba said, his exasperation becoming sharp. “But you should sit down before you fall over.” 

Joey rolled his head over slowly, bemusement crinkled on face. “Fine. I’ll jus’ go sit. On the couch.” 

He hobbled away, and Kaiba pinched the bridge of his nose. He tried to think of something he had said or done at the hospital that made Joey so damn bitter, but he couldn’t think of anything. In fact, he’d been by Joey’s side the entire time, only briefly taking calls. Other than make sure his boyfriend got the best care available, there wasn’t much else he could do. 

In the living room, Joey struggled to get comfortable. He’d taken all the throw pillows on the couch and had jammed them under his knee. The bulky cast ran from toe to hip, disappearing beneath his athletic shorts. “Do you need something?” Kaiba asked once Joey laid back. 

“Nope.” 

“If I go upstairs are you going to text me that you need something?” 

“Thought you weren’t going upstairs.” 

“Hypothetically.” 

“Go away.” 

Pinching his tongue between his teeth, Kaiba held up his hands in faux surrender and walked off. Fine. If he didn’t want or need help, then Kaiba wasn’t going to bother to continue offering. If Joey decided he actually needed something, Roland would return from the pharmacy shortly.

—

Even upstairs, Kaiba could hear the telenovela playing. He’d kept his door open, just in case. Little snickers, inter-dispersed with peels of dramatic piano music, put him at ease. At least Joey wasn’t pissed off at Mokuba and could take it easy. 

A few times, he stood up, but immediately sat down. Once, he made it all the way to the hallway. Getting further than that was complicated. He knew the second he went downstairs that Joey would go back to being upset. 

It wasn’t until late into the evening that he wandered downstairs. 

The television was flickered, and a late night talk show host paused to let the audience laugh. Joey had made a nest. Textbooks, his laptop, plates and cups from lunch and dinner. Mokuba had ordered pizza, it looked like. 

Sighing, Kaiba settled in the armchair and watched the satirical drivel for a few minutes before turning the television off. 

“Hey...I was watchin’ that...” Joey muttered, turning towards the darkening screen. 

“Uh-huh.” 

Even in the dim light, his eyes were fiery-bright. “Ya get caught up on work?” Joey asked. 

“I wasn’t behind.” 

“So you’ve been avoidin’ me, then?” 

“Not necessarily. You seemed like you’d rather not have me around, I wasn’t about to be an unwanted guest,” he said, though he looked around, “even if it is my living room.” 

Joey rolled over as far as he could. “Whatever.” 

“How was today’s episode?” Kaiba asked. 

“S’fine.” 

“Did Gabriella find out about Carlos yet?” 

Joey exhaled, and he sat up, carefully balancing himself before grabbing the crutches. “He’s a good liar. Keeps convincin’ her that he doesn’t have a thing for Yasmin, but Mama Rosita knows.” 

“Who’s Rosita?” 

“The Vasquez’s nosey neighbour. She’s the one that helped out after Gabi had that miscarriage like two seasons ago.” 

Kaiba followed Joey as he hobbled, first to the bathroom, and then again as he seemed to aimlessly wander from the living room back towards the grand staircase. Something uneasy swirled in Kaiba, and he again waited for Joey to decide what he wanted to do. 

“If you’re scared of the steps—,” 

“Ain’t scared.” 

Kaiba began again, “If you’re scared of the steps, we can set up a bedroom down here. By the library, there’s the guest room. It can be modified how you need it.” 

Flat-lipped, Joey looked down at his feet and sighed before glancing back up at Kaiba. It was difficult to read, but it was more disappointed than anything. 

“If ya don’t mind gettin’ stuff from upstairs, then fine, whatever.” 

It wasn’t the kind of compromise that Kaiba wanted. Getting Joey upstairs was what he wanted, because he believed that them in the same bed might have fixed whatever was bothering Joey. Or it could have started a fight. Not that this day had been a fight, just a struggle. Wordlessly, he went and grabbed two sets of clothes—one for Joey, one for himself—and headed to the guest bedroom. 

It was a nice room. Simple, tastefully put together for the guests they never had. 

Again, Joey struggled to elevate his leg. 

“Do you want help?” Kaiba asked. 

“Ya offerin’?” 

Kaiba shrugged. “Depends.” 

“On what?”

Dropping the clothes, Kaiba pulled pillows out from the closet and set them beside Joey. “On if you’re going to continue to act like this.” 

“Me? You’re the one who’s been all like...’oh great, now I gotta take time outta my day to do this’. And then you’re lecturin’ me on the way home like ‘how could you do that? You know better’.”

“You do.” 

“Thanks, smartass.” 

Without asking, Kaiba carefully adjusted the pillow beneath Joey’s leg. The blond tried to push his hands away, but he kept steady. “You do know better. Do you have any idea what went through my mind when Roland told me you were hurt?” 

“Oh, so this is about you.” 

“No, Joseph, it’s not.” 

“What the hell went through your head then? ‘What am I gonna do now, I gotta take care of Joseph the rest of the day! Oh no! Work’s gonna pile up!’”

Kaiba sneered. “Not even close.” 

“Well, coulda fooled me,” Joey said, untangling the earbuds from his pocket. He stuck them in, thumbed through the music on his phone, and leaned back. 

“How so?” 

“Not listenin’.” 

Crawling up to the head of the bed, Kaiba took one of the earbuds from Joey’s ear and briefly fought with him before letting him have it back. This was stupid. And pitiful. Somewhere along the way their communication broke down, and he was trying to trace where. 

“If this is about the phone calls,” he began, laying back and watching Joey to make sure he was listening. A few eye back-and-forth eye darts was enough for him. “I was distracting myself. Sitting in a hospital isn’t exactly comfortable, and I needed something to do while we were waiting because you weren’t talking. The pain killers make you surprisingly mute.” 

A smile popped up on Joey’s face for half a second. 

“When Roland came into the conference room, I...didn’t know what to think. I went on autopilot, I suppose. It was frightening, because all we knew was that the maid saw you fall down the stairs. The rest of the details had to wait. I was done by the time I actually got to see you. Just...done.” 

“Y’know,” Joey pulled one of the earbuds out. “It’s my fault.” 

“Mm.” 

“I figured ya prolly knew that already an’ you sittin’ there with me was a waste of your time.” 

Kaiba rolled over and propped up on his elbow. “The only thing that’s going to be a waste of time is rescheduling that meeting. Being there in the first place was a chore,” he said, smirking. It fell fast. “But I’d rather go through it than get that sort of news again, Joseph. It wasn’t pleasant.” 

“It’s not like I wanted to get hurt. Trust me, this sucks,” he said, wincing. “I thought slidin’ down the banister would be fun. I’ve seen Moki do it a million times, but I never actually tried myself. I was already runnin’ late to class, so I thought why not?”

Kaiba sighed and made a mental note to reprimand Mokuba for that later. 

Going to stand, he said, “I’ll go get your medicine.” 

Joey grabbed his wrist. “Wait.” 

“What?” 

“This is a good song,” he said, waggling the loose earbud. “I think you’ll like it.” 

Settling back down, Kaiba took the earbud and stuck it in. He didn’t know what to expect, Joey had a whole playlist of vapid pop garbage on their sound system. But he listened anyways. Slowly, he laid down beside Joey, threading their fingers together and tapping notes onto Joey’s knuckles. 

Piano. 

Fanciful piano. 

By the end, Joey’s eyes were half lidded, and if they waited another two or three songs, he would have been asleep. “If ya leave, are ya gonna come back?” Joey asked softly.

“Yes.” 

“Will ya sleep down here tonight?” 

“I brought down a change of clothes.” 

Joey squeezed his hand. “Don’t take too long, ‘kay? Got a whole album you’ll like.” 

Reluctantly, Kaiba pried himself from Joey’s grip. He was gone and back in a second, though he knew that Joey would be out even in that time. It had been a long, tiring day, and while he didn’t like sleeping in the guest room, he was more than happy to sleep beside Joey until getting upstairs was easier. 

**Author's Note:**

> In my head this started a little lighter with them joking about the stairs and stuff, but it got wilful and became more like this. So XD it is what it is. 
> 
> Tell me what you think,


End file.
